Draft Administration Committee Minutes Page 1 of 5 August 6, 2015 Administration and County Services Committee David Heeres Ed Boettcher, Chairman Laura Stanek Minutes - August 6, 2015 Members present: Ed Boettcher, David Heeres, Laura Stanek Members absent: None Others present: Mike Crawford, Pete Garwood, Sheryl Guy, Sherry Comben, Debra Peters, Janet Koch, Karen Bargy, Theresa Kent, Patty Niepoth 1. Meeting was called to order at 9:00 a.m. by Chairman Ed Boettcher. 2. Public Comment None. 3. Good Samaritan Resolution (attached pgs. 6-7) Motion by Laura Stanek, seconded by Dave Heeres, to recommend the Board of Commissioner’s approve a resolution of appreciation to Good Samaritan Family Services. Motion carried – unanimous. 4. Data Share Fee Waiver Request (attached pg. 8) Pete Garwood, County Administrator, said the County had approved a waiver for students in the past. Motion by Laura Stanek, seconded by Dave Heeres, to recommend the Board of Commissioner’s approve the request from Michigan Technological University geology graduate student Ashley Miller to waive the fees and approve the provision of the parcel line spatial data from the County Geographical Information System (GIS) database. Motion carried – unanimous. Commissioner Karen Bargy arrived at the meeting, creating a quorum of the Board of Commissioners. 5. Prosecutor’s Office Personnel Jim Rossiter, County Prosecuting Attorney, asked the Committee to approve refilling the second Assistant Prosecutor position. He requested a release of funds for wages of up to $55,000 plus benefits. Motion by Laura Stanek, seconded by Dave Heeres, to recommend that the Board of Commissioner’s approve the release of funds for a second assistant prosecutor of up to $55,000 for wages plus benefits. Motion carried – unanimous. Mr. Rossiter asked if a wage survey could be done for the elected officials. Mr. Garwood said the last time a wage survey had been done was 2012. Ms. Stanek said the wage study needed to be updated. It was the consensus of the Committee to direct the Administration Department to conduct a wage study, starting with the elected officials and include all the County employees. Mr. Garwood said the Antrim County Transportation and Sheriff’s Office contracts are currently under negotiation.
Transcript
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Administration Committee Minutes Page 1 of 5 August 6, 2015
Administration and County Services Committee
David Heeres Ed Boettcher, Chairman Laura Stanek
Minutes - August 6, 2015
Members present: Ed Boettcher, David Heeres, Laura Stanek
Members absent: None
Others present: Mike Crawford, Pete Garwood, Sheryl Guy, Sherry Comben, Debra Peters, Janet
Koch, Karen Bargy, Theresa Kent, Patty Niepoth
1. Meeting was called to order at 9:00 a.m. by Chairman Ed Boettcher.
2. Public Comment
None.
3. Good Samaritan Resolution (attached pgs. 6-7)
Motion by Laura Stanek, seconded by Dave Heeres, to recommend the Board of Commissioner’s
approve a resolution of appreciation to Good Samaritan Family Services.
Motion carried – unanimous.
4. Data Share Fee Waiver Request (attached pg. 8)
Pete Garwood, County Administrator, said the County had approved a waiver for students in the past.
Motion by Laura Stanek, seconded by Dave Heeres, to recommend the Board of Commissioner’s
approve the request from Michigan Technological University geology graduate student Ashley
Miller to waive the fees and approve the provision of the parcel line spatial data from the County
Geographical Information System (GIS) database. Motion carried – unanimous.
Commissioner Karen Bargy arrived at the meeting, creating a quorum of the Board of Commissioners.
5. Prosecutor’s Office Personnel
Jim Rossiter, County Prosecuting Attorney, asked the Committee to approve refilling the second
Assistant Prosecutor position. He requested a release of funds for wages of up to $55,000 plus benefits.
Motion by Laura Stanek, seconded by Dave Heeres, to recommend that the Board of
Commissioner’s approve the release of funds for a second assistant prosecutor of up to $55,000
for wages plus benefits. Motion carried – unanimous.
Mr. Rossiter asked if a wage survey could be done for the elected officials. Mr. Garwood said the last
time a wage survey had been done was 2012. Ms. Stanek said the wage study needed to be updated. It
was the consensus of the Committee to direct the Administration Department to conduct a wage study,
starting with the elected officials and include all the County employees.
Mr. Garwood said the Antrim County Transportation and Sheriff’s Office contracts are currently under
negotiation.
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Administration Committee Minutes Page 2 of 5 August 6, 2015
6. Equalization Department
Personnel Request (attached pg. 9)
Mr. Garwood said Ms. Rogers was requesting an extension of her temporary part-time status. Polly
Cairns, Equalization Director, supported the request. Sheryl Guy, County Clerk, distributed a letter
signed by four County employees that expressed their concerns over this issue (attached pg. 10).
Motion by Ed Boettcher, seconded by Dave Heeres, to recommend the Board of Commissioner’s
approve the request from Laura Rogers, Clerk II in the Equalization Department, to extend the
period of time in which she is temporarily working as a regular part-time employee in the
Equalization Department, at 32 hours per week, by three months starting August 24, 2015, with
the stipulation if the arrangement is not working out for any reason, the position will be restored
back to full-time immediately. Yes votes – Ed Boettcher, Dave Heeres; No votes – Laura Stanek. Motion carried.
MCAO Training Recommendation
Mr. Garwood said he has learned through conversations with administrators from other counties that it
is important to have trained staff in Equalization departments. He said other counties send their
Equalization staff through MCAT and/or MCAO training, adding that a higher level of training would
protect the County and ensure a smoother transition period if key personnel leave the County’s employ.
Ms. Stanek said that in the past, when training had been paid by the County, that a contract was made
between the employee and the County to ensure the employee remains a County employee for a
stipulated period of time. Ms. Cairns said some scholarship funds were available, conditional on
passing the class. She added that the MCAO classes had previously been held on Saturdays. The class
will cost $2,000 plus a $40 service fee.
The Committee and Mr. Garwood discussed changing the job description of the Equalization’s Clerk II
to include the necessity for MCAT/MCAO training. The terms of the agreement for Level 3 training for
Equalization Department employee Casey Guthrie were discussed.
Motion by Ed Boettcher, seconded by Dave Heeres, to recommend the Board of Commissioner’s
authorize the Clerk II in the Equalization Department to enroll in MCAO class January 2016
under the same terms as the tuition reimbursement agreement between the County and Casey
Guthrie as approved by the Board of Commissioners on May 14, 2015.
Motion carried – unanimous.
Director Search Update
Mr. Garwood had included a memo regarding the director search in the agenda packet. At this time the
three options are 1) the possibility of a Level 3 working with a Level 4, 2) a team approach for three
level 4s to provide the necessary Equalization services, and 3) a contract with a Level 4 currently
working for another county. In addition, Ms. Cairns has indicated there might be more interest in the
job if the director’s wages were increased by $10,000.
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Administration Committee Minutes Page 3 of 5 August 6, 2015
Ms. Cairns has also indicated that she might be willing to continue on a contractual basis beyond the
two months currently being considered (attached pg. 11). Mr. Boettcher asked Ms. Cairns if continued,
whether she saw her role as interim or a permanent role. Ms. Cairns said she would assist the
Equalization staff to deepen their knowledge, but if after a year, she’s still doing 99% of the reports, she
would have to reconsider the arrangement. She told the Committee that the reports are critical to the
State, the County, and to her certification. Sherry Comben, County Treasurer, asked about time spent in
the office. Ms. Cairns said she would be seeking approval from Traverse City to allow her to spend
more time in Antrim County.
Motion by Laura Stanek, seconded by Dave Heeres, to recommend the Finance Committee
approve an additional two-month contract extension between Antrim County and W.A.S. LLC
(Polly Cairns) for Equalization Director Services from August 28, 2015, through October 30, 2015
at $6,666.67 per month with a budget transfer from 101000-257-702.000 and into 10100-257-
802.000 Motion carried – unanimous.
Ms. Stanek said she wouldn’t recommend increasing the Equalization Director’s wage by $10,000. Mr.
Garwood said the existing advertisement stated the current salary range was from $56,669 to $62,733,
with the possibility of negotiations. He added that changing the Equalization Director’s wage scale
would take Board of Commissioner action. It was the consensus of the Committee and Ms. Cairns that a
full-time Equalization Director was preferred.
Motion by Laura Stanek, seconded by Dave Heeres, to recommend that the Board of
Commissioner’s to raise the top amount of the Equalization Director’s wage scale to $10,000
more than the starting rate, making the range $56,669.00 to $66,660.00.
Motion carried – unanimous.
7. County Administration Department
Tuition Reimbursement
Laura Stanek said in the past the Board had approved reimbursement for individual classes that would
benefit the County, but not an entire degree. The Committee discussed the topic and agreed. Ms. Koch
was directed to bring requests for tuition reimbursements to the Committee when she enrolled in
specific classes.
8. County Administrator Position Description
Laura Stanek said she believed there were issues that still needed to be discussed. Deb Haydell, County
Accountant, distributed a packet that contained a copy of her job description (attached pgs. 12-14),
stating that it needed to be revised if the County Administrator’s job description was revised.
Mr. Boettcher indicated it was important to include the supervision of department heads in the County
Administrator’s job description; that with monthly meetings the standing committees can’t supervise on
a daily basis. Ms. Haydell requested an employee handbook, adding that she would like to see a line
drawn between when she would need to go to her oversight committee and when she needed to go to
the County Administrator.
Deb Peters, Veterans Affairs Director, said the department heads would like to know what the term
“supervised” meant and what changes that would mean. Theresa Kent, Abstractor Director, said most of
the department heads had been in their positions for some time and were fine with the current situation.
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Mr. Boettcher said an employee handbook would refer to the role of the County Administrator; that the
County Administrator job description needed to be established first.
Mr. Crawford suggested pulling out the points of contention and approving the document. He added
that the position description could always be amended. Ms. Haydell said her concerns regarded number
2 in Essential Duties and Responsibilities and the Summary.
It was the consensus of the Committee to hold a meeting with the chair of the Administration
Committee and the chair of the Finance Committee along with the County Administrator and the
County Accountant to work through the position descriptions.
The term supervision was again discussed. Ms. Guy said some department heads are concerned that
they’re not getting timely answers from Mr. Garwood.
9. Torch Lake Sandbar Task Force
Mr. Boettcher noted that Triston Cole, State representative of the 105th district, had asked Antrim
County to be part of a sandbar task force during a round table discussion on July 30, 2015 held in Elk
Rapids. Mr. Boettcher had told Representative Cole that if a task force would be beneficial, that he
believed the County would be willing to be involved. The task force would address the problems
regarding the sandbar over the Fourth of July.
Ms. Stanek said law enforcement should be involved. Mr. Boettcher said he’d talked to Undersheriff
Dean Pratt, who told him that multiple law enforcement agencies already met as a type of task force to
deal with the sandbar issues. Mr. Crawford felt more State money was needed to fund the DNR and the
State Police. Mr. Boettcher suggested that some community members be invited to those existing law
enforcement sandbar meetings.
Gordy Schafer spoke about his experiences with the sandbar. He described some social media
techniques that could be used to help the situation next summer.
Mr. Crawford left the meeting, at which point a quorum of the Board of Commissioners was no longer
present.
10. Various Matters
Fiber Connection
Val Craft, IT Director, attended the meeting to provide some information to the Committee. Ms. Craft
said the State of Michigan was upgrading the internet connection to the Sheriff’s Office. There will be a
faster connection, but there will also be an increased cost.
Existing fiber runs from the County Building to the 1905 Courthouse and from the 1905 Courthouse to
the Sheriff’s Office. Ms. Craft would like to upgrade the fiber connection between the County’s main
buildings to single mode. She said she is still gathering information regarding the project. Ms. Craft
noted the possibility of connecting the Department of Human Services offices and sharing the cost.
Ms. Heeres asked about the necessity of eventual equipment upgrades in the buildings. Val Craft said
upgrades would eventually be needed.
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Administration Committee Minutes Page 5 of 5 August 6, 2015
Paging System
Ms. Craft said the paging software proposed in the 2016 budget would enable the use of the telephone
speakers as paging devices. Mr. Garwood said a paging system would be the only way to immediately
announce an emergency on the County’s campus.
11. Public Comment
Ms. Bargy communicated her concerns regarding the County Administrator to the Committee. She
advocated for a Board of Commissioner performance review of the County Administrator.
Mr. Boettcher noted that the proposed change to the position description wasn’t giving the County
Administrator authority; it was giving responsibility. He added that the Board of Commissioners
needed to prioritize what they would like the County Administrator to do. Mr. Heeres would like the
Board pull back from micro-managing. Ms. Bargy said it might be time to consider the creation of a
human resources position. Mr. Garwood suggested having MSU-E facilitator John Amrhein help the
Commissioners build a strategic plan.
Motion by Ed Boettcher, seconded by Laura Stanek, to recommend that the Board of
Commissioner’s invite MSU-E facilitator John Amrhein to make a presentation regarding a
strategic planning process for the Board. Motion carried – unanimous.
Motion by Laura Stanek, seconded by Dave Heeres, to move into closed session for the purpose of
discussing the ongoing negotiations with two union contracts, the Sheriff’s Department - Deputies
& Dispatchers and Corrections - Cooks and Clerical Unit; Mr. Garwood, Ms. Koch were
requested to attend the closed session and Commissioner Bargy also attended.
Motion carried – unanimous.
The Committee went into closed session as 12:28 p.m.
